Somerset CCC Match Preview - 22/4/21
Wed 21 Apr 2021
Leicestershire CCC continue their 2021 LV= County Championship campaign by returning home to the Uptonsteel County Ground with a draw, following a gritty fourth day performance at the Oval against Surrey.
Hassan Azad and Sam Evans led the way for the Running Foxes during that fixture and will look to do so again as Somerset CCC make the trip to Leicestershire.
The visitors come into the fixture off the back of a defeat at the hands of Gloucestershire, losing at home against their opponents for the first time since 1993.
Somerset will be looking to immediately bounce back against a Leicestershire side without a win in the County Championship so far this season.
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Watch the Foxes live through our online streaming service
As confirmed by Leicestershire County Cricket Club last month, every LV= County Championship fixture played at the Uptonsteel County Ground will be available to watch via our live streaming service, free of charge.
This season, the Club has worked tirelessly to enhance its live streaming service for all Running Foxes Members and fans that want to tune in and follow Leicestershire throughout the 2021 season.
This year’s live streaming service will include up to five cameras, BBC commentary, graphic overlays and will be available to watch on PC, mobile, tablet, games consoles and TVs via the Club’s social media channels.
Overview
We have to go back 14 years to find the last time Leicestershire met Somerset in a County Championship match, with our visitors defeating us twice in 2007 as they eased to the Division Two title.
At Grace Road, they won by 198 runs, while in Taunton, they were victorious by 259 runs. Our Head Coach, Paul Nixon, played in the match in Taunton, while in James Hildreth, Somerset still possess a player in their current squad who played in both those matches.
Our most recent meeting with Somerset was in the Royal London One-Day Cup in 2015, where we lost by nine wickets having been inserted by our visitors, again at Grace Road. Lewis Hill is the only surviving member of the Leicestershire team that day, while Tom Abell, Lewis Gregory, Josh Davey and the aforementioned Hildreth all played in that meeting and are likely to all be in the Somerset squad for the upcoming match.
Both teams failed to win their previous match in the LV= County Championship, with Somerset losing to the current surprise package in Group Two, Gloucestershire by eight wickets. The Running Foxes earned a battling draw away at Surrey, with Hassan Azad’s unbeaten 144 underpinning a resolute second innings display which saw us lose only three wickets in over a day’s play.
Somerset sit one place above Leicestershire in the Group Two table, with two points more following an eight-point deduction going into the season.
The Running Foxes
Hassan Azad was key to our draw at The Oval last week and our opening batsman will be looking to continue his good form. He accumulated 199 runs in our last match for just one dismissal and a similar return would be most welcome.
Our overseas signing, Marcus Harris, is available to make his debut and the Australian left-hander will be a real boost to our batting group. Harris has played 10 Tests for Australia in the last three years, and has scored 2,325 runs in the Sheffield Shield across the last three domestic seasons at a stunning average of 62.84.
Ben Mike plays a key role for Leicestershire as an all-rounder and showed his hitting ability again at The Oval with a massive six to gain us our final batting point. With our bowling group looking to impress in the subsequent matches, a strong performance from Ben would be huge for our chances in this match. Ben’s career best innings is 5-37, which shows his danger to opposition batsmen.
Somerset CCC - ones to watch
36-year-old James Hildreth has been a run machine for Somerset for the best part of two decades. He’s currently sitting on 17,400 first class runs at an average of 42.13, and is often referred to as the best batsman of his generation never to have played for England. He will be a key wicket for us in this clash.
Lewis Gregory is a genuine all-rounder of note. In his first-class career, he averages almost 22 with the bat and 25 with the ball and has now also played eight T20 international matches for England. Capable with both bat and ball, the Running Foxes need to keep Gregory quiet in the upcoming match.
Fellow pace all-rounder Craig Overton is another player with international recognition, playing four Tests and one ODI for England so far in his career. Overton, who turned 27 recently, has a first-class batting average of 21.54 and bowling average of 24.37 - very similar numbers to team-mate Gregory. His high pace and all-action game will test the Leicestershire batsmen.
Leicestershire Squad
Paul Nixon has named a 13-man squad for the clash against Somerset CCC at the Uptonsteel County Ground.
Marcus Harris comes straight into the fold following his successful quarantine period after flying over from Australia, as Sam Evans is ruled out under the concussion protocol from a blow received against Surrey CCC last week.
Will Davis is still not deemed fit to be involved following an injury picked up against Loughborough UCCE.
Leicestershire from 13: Colin Ackermann (C), Callum Parkinson (VC), Hassan Azad, Harry Dearden, Alex Evans, Gavin Griffiths, Marcus Harris, Lewis Hill, Dieter Klein, Ben Mike, Rishi Patel, Harry Swindells (wk), Chris Wright.
Match Sponsor: We would like to thank Energetics Energy for being our match sponsor.
